


Christmas in July

by ZipperNova



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Amicitia Family (Final Fantasy XV), Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Ignis is mentioned, Noctis is mentioned, Pandemic - Freeform, Prompto is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25156426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZipperNova/pseuds/ZipperNova
Summary: In the midst of a deadly pandemic, Iris suddenly whips out all the Christmas decorations. Gladio just doesn't understand.
Kudos: 8





	Christmas in July

The last few months had been… rough, to say the least. It had all started when a deadly virus swept through the land. It spread quickly, and took lives almost as fast. It was the deadliest disease Eos had seen in almost 100 years. Even Nifelheim had experienced the horrible threat.

Safety measures were quickly put into place in Insomnia. Only essential workers were allowed to continue working at their location of employment, everyone else were either asked to work from home or not at all. The ability to leave one's home became more moderated. Face masks and gloves required when one did leave, a distance of 6 feet was to be maintained from each person, plexiglass barriers were erected at store cash registers. It was a completely new way of living. One that almost all of the current population had never experienced before.

It was hard. Very hard. At first, people had brushed it off. Did they not experience some sort of seasonal disease that typically took many lives every year anyways? What made this one any different? People didn't wear the masks or gloves at first, them simply being recommendations. However, as time went on, as things grew worse and worse, the recommendations became mandations. Stores were allowed to turn away customers without the proper gear. Some of the populous grew angry, claimed absurd allegations of brainwashing and going against the Six-given way of naturally breathing. It was… terrifying. Terrifying to see how hateful such a beautiful world could be. How selfish and, well, dumb everyone was. It made Gladio physically ill. Enraged.

Things had started to get bad around the beginning of March. Come April 2nd, after Iris had been told she could no longer visit the Citadel, Gladio had decided to skip celebrating his birthday. He had spent it in the family manor with his dad and little sister, a lopsided homemade chocolate cake with a tealight as a candle. It was a sad sight for sure when Gladio had previously experienced nothing less than huge gatherings when he was younger; or a night in with Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, video games, and take out. A quiet night in which his father seemed absolutely baffled as to why there were very low, poorly made decorations hanging across doorways and off the walls (made and hung by Iris herself,) was something Gladio had never imagined he would experience. Iris had made a cake and card all by herself. She even tried to make him a stuffed bunny out of the bits and pieces of scrap fabric she had collected over the last few months with her new interest in sewing. It was a patchwork of a rabbit, a little lopsided, but Gladio loved it with every fiber of his being. She had worked so hard to give him something, whereas he had worked hard to forget about his birthday and pretend it didn't even exist. There had been too much going on to celebrate. So much so that their father truly had forgotten. All Gladio had gotten from him was a distressed and exhausted sigh, a hand on his broad shoulder, and an apology.

"I seem to have forgotten." Clarus had mumbled in disappointment. "I'm sorry Gladiolus, there's been, so much-"

"Don't worry about it." Gladio had tried to sound indifferent, like it really wasn't a big deal. Like even though he had been down playing his birthday in recent years, and actively tried to ignore his birthday  _ this  _ year, it didn't hurt that Clarus had forgotten.

Gladio blew out his makeshift birthday candle, thanked Iris from the bottom of his heart, and took his perfect plush and birthday card up to his room. There he laid on his bed and attempted to process the tightness in his chest as he felt so alone.

That had been April. Now it was July. Schools had already been closed for months, checks were sent to the city's people in an attempt to keep the economy going, entire businesses temporarily shut down or permanently closed by now. Restrictions had started to loosen in an attempt to appease the growing numbers of people who protested face masks and their newfound "oppression." In rushing into resuming normal life, Insomnia ended up looking like utter fools as their number of infected and deaths shot up dramatically compared to the rest of the world.

Gladio spent a lot of time at the manor with Iris. Even Clarus was often seen working from home now. Typically he would spend a week or two living in the Citadel, then be tested for the virus before being allowed to return back home for another couple weeks of remote work. Gladio had already had his own fair share of tests done. His visits to the Citadel were rare and far between. Noctis was required to stay in his apartment, Prompto being cleared to stay with him for the last few months so he wouldn't go insane.

Video calls were very common now. Gladio would typically sit next to his father in his office should they both be required for a meeting and both be at the manor. Otherwise, Gladio didn't have a whole lot to do anymore. He and Cor would occasionally go over new security measures, but with the prince safely tucked away, Gladio didn't have much to do in ways of shield work. So he spent a lot of time training. And when he wasn't training, trying to bother Iris for something to do, or reading.

Of all the books Gladio owned, all the titles that had amassed into what seemed like a never ending to do list, Gladio had done what he had previously thought to be impossible. He had read himself to near death. He was done with reading. When he wasn't training, cleaning, or cooking, (Jared was staying away from the manor to keep himself and his family safe from the virus.) reading was Gladio's next choice. At first he had been excited. Finally, time to catch up on his list! But the joy was short lived as Gladio finished book after book.

Even calling with his buddies had become boring. A lot of the crownsguard and kingsglaive were furloughed for the time being. While security was more lax in most of the citadel, the King himself was still very much protected. As was Noctis and his apartment. The guards however were the same people in regular rotation. Naturally, the rest of security were still required to be in top shape and continue their training in case of an emergency call to action. However with most of the world in a mass pandemic, outside and internal threats were low.

Gladio had called, both phone and online, a lot of his buddies at least once. All the conversations went the same. "How you holding up? You miss me yet? I'm so bored. I can only sit around so much! Hey, when this is all over, you wanna go get lunch some time?" Even Ignis, slightly less busy than normal, could only entertain Gladio so much.

The young shield had started to look forward to the few and rare days he was called into the Citadel. He was never there for more than a few hours though. Sometimes he was even asked to physically go see the prince. Though Gladio would never admit it out loud, he really appreciated those days. Even if it was just to go see his whiney sleeping beauty. Although with Prompto around, Noctis seemed to be picking up some better habits. His apartment wasn't trashed all the time, and with Ignis rarely being able to stop by anymore, Gladio knew it had to have been either Prompto's actual doing or his influence.

Today just so happened to be his lucky day. He had managed to kill some time at Noct's place, striking up conversation with him and Prompto while maintaining the proper distance and face mask. Even if they were six feet apart and Gladio had tested negative for the virus, it was mandated that Gladio still wear his mask. Noctis and Prompto adorned their own as well. When the safety of the royal family was at risk, they had to be extremely cautious.

They had caught up on what little there was to catch up on; gone over updates on the city's status on the virus; new safety precautions that were going into effect; and, not to Gladio's surprise, Noctis' worries over his father's health and safety. He was weak as it was, keeping the wall up, but with the added stress of his people dying left and right from a disease that still had no cure, Noctis openly expressed his fear. Gladio comforted him the best he could with words. Prompto was the only one who could offer any physical support. While Gladio often complained about the young prince, seeing him express his fears and emotions unbidden for once, hurt Gladio. And due to their situation, there was little he could do to help him.

The drive home, Gladio couldn't help but think about Noctis' words. It riled him up to say the least. Noctis may be a handful, ungrateful, rude, inconsiderate, and weak, just to name a few, but he was also just a kid. He deserved as much of a life as any of the other citizens. All the people who had already lost loved ones, all the people who suffered permanent damage. Yet there were still selfish, stupid,  _ heartless _ , people out there who refused to wear masks. Sent written threats on the King's life every time he tried to do something to save them, made idiotic claims that the Six would protect them, or that the entire world was creating a hoax just to make brainwashing people easier.

Gladio's grip tightened around his steering wheel. His own father wasn't exactly young anymore. If he were to catch the virus and… damn… he didn't want to even think about it. What would he tell Iris? What would they do? They already lost their mother, Gladio couldn't lose his father so young too…

With a sour mood already heavy on his

shoulders, he was almost relieved when he exited the car to enter the manor. At least in his home he would be able to distract his mind enough with another book or movie. Or, that's what he had planned.

The tall man nearly took a paper chain of green and red loops to the chest as he entered the front door. He paused, an eyebrow raising. That wasn't there before he left. Continuing on into the main living space; he was greeted with more low hung paper chains, a string of flashing lights, boxes scattered across the floor, and a dancing snowman that Gladio hated seeing every Christmas season. In the far right corner, right next to the house's window wall, stood the bottom of the family Christmas tree and 10 year old Iris.

"What is going on?" Gladio asked slowly as he took in the mess of a living room.

"Christmas! Duh!" Iris smiled.

"It's July. It's hot as Ifrit's…" He watched as Iris continued to place ornaments on the barely constructed tree. "Armpit…" he moved to stand by her, his full height allowing him to see over the tree.

"I think you're missing something." He deadpanned.

"Quiet! I couldn't reach that high!" Iris frowned. Their Christmas tree was huge, 14 feet or something like that. It kind of had to be to fill up all the space. Their upstairs started off as a balcony before turning into your typical hallway leading to the rest of the house. While having a standard 6 or 8 foot tree wouldn't look bad, it didn't help that Gladio was as big as a freaking tree. Having the larger tree helped to fill in the huge floor to ceiling area while helping make Gladio not look like a giant. He could probably never dress up as Santa. He'd tower over all the kids, and Santa was scary enough as it was.

"And why is it Christmas all of a sudden?" Gladio asked.

"Because! They're gonna play all kinds of Christmas movies on TV so we gotta get ready!" Iris exclaimed as she pointed towards the flat screen. Indeed, a scene of some people in a snow covered, Christmas decorated townsquare played.

"Why are they playing Christmas movies?" Gladio wondered allowed in near disbelief. Christmas in the summer wasn't exactly unheard of, but he couldn't remember the last time it actually meant Christmas movies playing on TV. It was usually some crappy advertisement for deals on financing on really expensive stuff.

"Because Gladdy! Christmas is the best and we all need to be happy! So let's make Christmas now!"

That was when it all clicked. If Iris was right, then the station that was playing all the movies must have been doing the marathon to try and cheer people up. It was true that the winter holidays typically brought some sort of joy and compassion out of people, so playing all the movies made sense. But Iris, she was taking things a little too far.

"Iris, you can watch all the movies, but decorating the house is…"

"It's fine! I can do it!" Iris said angrily as she raised her voice. She frowned harshly at Gladio before quickly turning away again to continue with the tree.

"Whatever…" Gladio muttered. The initial shock of Iris yelling at him gave way to irritation. She was hard headed, just like the rest of the Amicitia. But that didn't mean she could just do whatever she wanted. What was their dad gonna say? He'd be the one who had to put everything away whenever she decided she was done. Actually, he should be home today…

Gladio found his father in his office, bent over paperwork with his computer screen lit up with some sort of work interface program.

"Dad, have you seen the living room?" Gladio immediately asked.

"No." Clarus responded without looking up.

"Iris got all the Christmas stuff out."

"Is that what that noise was?" Clarus said distractedly. Gladio huffed in annoyance. The man probably wasn't listening.

"Dad, it's a mess. It's everywhere."

"Well is it hurting you?"

Gladio frowned. What was that supposed to mean?

"No?"

"Is  _ she  _ hurt?"

"...no."

"Then what's the problem?" Clarus finally looked up at his son, brows drawn together in confusion.

"Wh- it's a mess. It's  _ July _ !"

"Should she put up barbecue decorations?"

"Dad!" His father had to be one of the most serious people he had ever known in his entire life, even more than King Regis himself. But he could also be such a  _ dad _ . And right now his dad attitude was pissing Gladio off. "It's not Christmas! It's summer!"

"Oh, what's wrong with a little holiday spirit in the middle of summer?"

Now Gladio knew he was being a smart ass. His shoulders dropped and his head lolled back to look at the ceiling in defeat.

"Whatever." He muttered as he turned to leave.

"Gladio," Clarus started, looking to his son again and setting his pen down. "Why does it upset you?"

"It's just, it's stupid! Stores put holiday crap out months before they're supposed to, now Iris gets to get all that out just because she feels like it?"

"Oh Gladio." Clarus sighed with a shake of his head.

Gladio's frown deepened. What was his dad not getting? Just because Iris was bored at home doesn't mean she can do whatever she wants. Just because their dad was busy with work doesn't mean there's no consequences. She already got into enough trouble as it was and got away with it because she was "Daddy's Little Princess."

"You know how much Iris loves the holiday." Clarus started. Gladio just stared, refusing to accept that as the reason as to why it was okay for her to get everything out. "Iris loves Christmas. She loves the baking, the decorating, the lights, all of it.

"Iris is also stuck at home right now. Away from everyone. Her friends, the Citadel, Jared and Talcott. She hasn't been in school for months Gladio."

"She did the online schooling." Gladio pointed out. "She saw them when they did the video classes. And she calls her friends all the time!"

"But she doesn't get to go anywhere Gladio! Calling her friends and doing the video calls isn't enough! You know how social she is." Clarus let out a small laugh as he had a thought. "She's been demanding rides to the Citadel since she was small! She needs entertainment and," he paused and waved his hand in the air as he searched for a word. "Fun!"

Gladio still didn't understand. He folded his arms over his chest and stared at his father, waiting for him to start making sense. Clarus sighed.

"Gladio, Iris is still very young. She might not admit, hell, she might not even realize it, but she's scared and hurting. Christmas makes her happy Gladio, and if she needs to make her own pretend world right now to help her through this, then let her."

That… made a lot of sense. After a mild pause, Clarus continued.

"A lot of people are struggling right now. Even me and you. This is something many have not experienced in their lives. Regis is doing his best, but with the council turning down every attempt he makes at helping the city, things have become… unnecessarily harder.

"My point is, even grown adults are struggling right now. It's not as easy as it is for others. Surely even you have become bored without his Highness around."

Clarus gave him a smirk, knowing just how irritated Gladio could get with the young prince. Gladio on the other hand rolled his eyes in response.

"Understand?" Clarus asked.

The young shield uncrossed his arms and looked to the book shelves across from his father, scratching the back of his head as he processed the speech. His father had a point. A very reasonable point. One that Gladio hadn't really understood or that it applied to him until just now. Even though it had been months since everything had started happening, he sometimes found himself just going through the motions like nothing was wrong. Maybe he was used to it by now. Maybe he just wasn't impacted to begin with. Maybe he understood it so well that subconsciously he wasn't worried so long as he continued to do his part in the recommended precautions. Or maybe he was just in permanent denial that he was bothered at all.

"I get it." Gladio mumbled.

"Good." Clarus said with a small smile and a nod. He returned to his work without a word, leaving Gladio to go about his business.

The large teen left the study, closing the door behind him. He let out a large sigh and ran a hand over his buzzed hair. His eyes drifted down the hallway, back towards the living room. He took in all the decorations as he reentered. Little statues of people and their village on the mantle; artificial pine garland poorly wrapped around the banister; the ever familiar snowy cabin blanket draped along the back of the couch while grey, white, red, and plaid decorative pillows rested on the seat. It was very… Christmas looking. He looked to where Iris stood, still at the bottom half of the tree. The ornaments she had put on were all bunched together, her attempt at trying to fit all of the decorations in too small of an area.

"Might have more room if you put the rest of the tree up." The large teen finally spoke up. Iris turned around to face him, a small frown already in place.

"I said I couldn't reach that high." She pouted.

"...I can."

Iris' eyes held the slightest bit of hope, though she was trying her hardest not to look excited.

"Really?"

"I mean, I'm the one who usually puts it together so-"

"I mean are you really gonna do it?"

Gladio forced a nonchalant shrug to mess with the young girl.

"I guess." He sighed overdramatically.

"Really!?"

"Sure, why not."

"Oh thank you Gladdy!" Her small body packed a punch when it came flying at you from across the room. He grunted as her head nearly collided with his gut.

Gladio hadn't understood, not at first. He always got so irritated when Christmas decorations started popping up in stores months before the holiday, hell, even before other holidays that were coming sooner! When he had first heard about the Christmas movie marathon, he was so confused. Then Iris deciding she could just drag out all the decorations because of it? It had really irritated him. But now he understood. If Iris needed a safe place, then so be it. He never wanted her to be sad or scared, and if setting up a 14 foot tall Christmas tree and binge watching every Christmas movie that's ever existed was the way to prevent it, then he would do it. Hell, he might have to whip out the hot coco… fuck it. It's Christmas now.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be an explanation for why it's okay for people to put up their Christmas tree and get into the Christmas spirit now of all times, but then it kind of turned into a bit of an exploration into the feelings a lot of people are going through right now. I didn't deep dive into it, but it's kind of there. (Also I got a lil political maybe in the beginning so oops, get ready for the backlash.)
> 
> Anyways, I kind of didn't want to write something about current events, so I'm actually super nervous to post this. I'll delete it if it gets too much flak. I hope it came out okay though and everyone can enjoy a nice little Amicitia sibling moment.


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